Holiday times!

My fortnight’s holiday in Cusco was a massive blessing.  Cusco is South America’s oldest continually inhabited city and centre of the Inca empire so it is full of history and culture.  My team mate Caitlin and I stayed with a friend who we’d met in Mozambique, Elisabeth and her host family who were very hospitable.  This meant that I got my OWN bedroom for a whole two weeks and a wardrobe – so for the first time in 6 months I actually unpacked!  Sheer bliss!

I don’t think I realised how tired I was until I started to unwind!  My days mainly consisted of reading, resting, frequenting nice coffee shops and watching films.  It was so nice to be in one place for the whole time as well as having the opportunity to learn more about Peruvian culture in a beautiful city.  I was grateful that I got to swim in a local indoor heated pool (I was the only gringo there!) as well as get a massage and celebrate St Patricks Day (yes Cusco even has an Irish pub and youth hostel!) 

I also enjoyed going to an English speaking group for people seeking spiritual truth.  The first Sunday I went, the discussion topic was on the spiritual discipline of ‘silence and solitude’ which Caitlin and I thought was ironic (or maybe perfect timing!) as we have had so little of that living with often 30 others for the last six months.  It was great to be able to put into practice some of the practical applications we discussed during the rest of my holiday.  So this all meant that I felt very refreshed and ready for the second half of our journey when I returned to Lima.  [At this stage it looks like our journey will continue into September and maybe into October as we are a little behind the original ending of August at the time of writing!]

Peru: The land of desert and crazy driving!

Our ‘chilling’ time on the coast of Peru ended up with lots of people visiting the toilet for various reasons so I was able to be nurse maid on occasions.  We then had a long drive through Peru’s desert land (apparently 3/5 of Peru is jungle but I have yet to see this part!)  Peru is definitely the poorest country we have been in so far and there seems to be little pride in keeping the country clean…but the sunsets have been stunning!

En route to Lima, the team split into two groups.  One smaller group left to go to work in the jungle and help run a church leaders conference for those based in the Amazon.  The rest of the team then made their way to Paramonga where we partnered with local churches and led childrens work and prayed for lots of people.  On one occasion some of the team prayed for a man who had been deaf from birth and praise God he was able to hear after praying!

Myself and a few others then left south again for Lima to help prepare for the rest of the team’s arrival.  We were able to network with other agencies and do lots of airport runs for new team members arriving and people returning home for a break.  Having done 7 airport runs in 9 days as well as other driving, I’ve certainly conquered rush hour driving in Lima….although rules such as stopping at green lights and going at red sometimes is a little weird!

It very much feels that we’re in a time of transition as a team and as we’ve reached the 6 month mark, many of us are feeling tired and need a rest.  So I’m heading off tomorrow with my lovely friend Caitlin to go to Cuzco for a rest (just a mere 22 hour bus ride away!) whilst the rest of the team stays in Lima or goes to the jungle.  Whilst I love being with my ‘family’ here, close community living is not always easy so I’m looking forward to having some space and sleeping in the same bed for at least a week!  Thank you for making it possible for a holiday to happen.